It was the summit of no illusions. Even the offer to meet again in Moscow, made by Vladimir Putin in English at the end of his short final statement in Alaska, appeared tentative. “I might get a little heat on that one,” Donald Trump replied, with uncharacteristic hesitancy.
After three hours of talks, in which the two men failed to meet head-to-head, there has been no ceasefire in Ukraine, no easing and no reinforcing of sanctions. The obvious big winner is Putin himself – back on the world stage, no longer isolated and talking face-to-face to American leaders.
